I AM NOT A DOG PERSON

[gunsage]

As the title says, so shall it be. :p In any case, the relevance of the statement is that I live in a neighborhood that has a fairly decent amount of dogs...and even more strays. Now, yes, there are a lot of stray...anythings...but that's besides the point. My neighbors across the street have two dogs that I know of (they also have a "beware of dogs" sign across a fence in their yard, but I don't know if there's anything in there). The strange part about this is that they have this enclosed fence, but they keep their dogs (medium-sized) loosely leashed in the front yard. :confused:

The point? Well, they certainly seem friendly enough, but every so often they get loose! They proceed to trot about into other peoples' yards leaving "presents" and doing who knows what else. Fortunately, this seems to happen...oh...maybe once a week...but as I said, I'm not a dog person. No, they haven't attacked me. No, I've not been aggressive toward them. However, there were a number of times where they approached me (in a friendly manner) as I was trying to back out and go to work.

I'm worried that...

1. They're friendly now, but it'll be that ONE time I let my guard down that they're not.
2. I'll not be paying attention and back over one.
3. They'll demolish the various stray cats in the neighborhood leaving YET ANOTHER type of mess.
4. THEY'LL TAKE OVER THE WORLD! I don't know...something.

In summation, they get loose often, but it doesn't seem like anything's really done about it on the neighbor's part besides just leashing 'em back up. They haven't been ballsy enough to go into my backyard and demolish the trash can or anything, but I'm worried...or maybe concerned is a better term...that SOMETHING will end up happening that could have been prevented.

What are ya'll's thoughts on this? Yes, I've considered calling Animal Control, but is there something else I should do first or is that taking it a bit far?

[BookstoreEscapee]

I would say something to the neighbors first. Let them know that they have gotten in the way when you were leaving for work and that you are worried about hitting them one day. Appeal to their desire not to see their dogs as road pizza (I assume they don't want this). You might also mention that you don't want to see them get into fights with stray animals or whatever. (I had an indoor/outdoor cat who got in several fights with other cats in the 'hood and twice he had to go to the vet to get an infected scratch drained.)

If they have been friendly, I doubt they'll suddenly turn and attack you, but I suppose you never know.

If they don't keep the animals confined then I would call animal control. What the hell do they have a fenced-in yard for if they're just gonna tie the dogs up in front of it?:confused:

[bigjimaz]

I agree with BookstoreEscapee. Let them know you are concerned about their well being. Maybe even find a way (Tactfully) to remind them that strays get picked up all the time and the leash laws (if you have them there) mean they could get fined. (and you wouldn't want to see that happen ;))

Than if they continue to permit the animals to escape, call Animal Control. This is the humane thing to do, both for the possibility of future aggression of the dogs to protect the neighbors and for the dog's safety.



And BookstoreEscapee, "Fleas Navidad" I absolutely LOVE that. :rotflmao:

[Saydrah]

Definitely talk to the neighbors, or if they seem like the mean type, drop a friendly note on their door saying something like, "Hi there, some neighbors have been concerned for the safety of your dogs- they have been spending time in driveways and roads around the neighborhood, and we would feel terrible if one was hit by a car. I'm sure everyone would appreciate it if you took care to secure your babies in such a way as to prevent any escapes."

If that doesn't work, call Animal Control and have the dogs impounded for a day- paying an impound fee might teach them to secure their dogs better. But be careful- when neighbors start calling authorities on each other, it always escalates, and you might find the police called for 'noise violations' when you are spending a quiet evening alone.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Definitely talk to the neighbors, or if they seem like the mean type, drop a friendly note on their door saying something like, "Hi there, some neighbors have been concerned for the safety of your dogs- they have been spending time in driveways and roads around the neighborhood, and we would feel terrible if one was hit by a car. I'm sure everyone would appreciate it if you took care to secure your babies in such a way as to prevent any escapes."


That's a good way to put it if you are worried they won't be receptive or may be retaliatory types - that way the "blame" is spread around and if you do have to call the authorities they won't be able to pin it on any one person...

My parents' neighbors tie their dog up (a Pomeranian) in the front yard, too, but I have never once seen him get loose. He gets annoying cuz he yaps at everyone but he's friendly and his rope only reaches to about 3 feet from the street. He's got plenty of leeway to run around the yard but no one has to worry about hitting him.

[PuckishOne]

Saydrah has a good suggestion - start by approaching the neighbors on a friendly level, and make sure you emphasize that your concern is for the safety of the dogs. If that doesn't work, by all means contact animal control. It's the responsibility of dog owners to make sure their dogs are secure at all times, even if the dog is the sweetest, schmoopiest widdle booboo in the world. Sometimes the financial penalty is enough to rekindle the protective feelings of animal ownership. ;)

[gunsage]

Actually, as anti-social as I am, I only know about...well...I guess now one neighbor (my next door neighbor moved out, but her sister still stays there). Now normally it would just be a case of me sucking it up and approaching them, but there's something else that I just remembered. I don't know for certain, but there has been some "evidence" of the wife within the house cheating.

Again, I'm unsure whether it's true or not, but I do know what the husband drives...and often, there's a different truck there...that magically vanishes minutes before the husband gets home. :eek: Like I said, it's all I've got (besides one other incident) and for all I know, it could be a friend, her brother, whatever. About a month ago there was a situation where there were quite a many vehicles over there, presumably for some sort of get together.

The husband at one point comes out with some other guy, wife trailing them, and a HUGE argument. No fighting or anything, just a lot of drunken rabble. Eventually the cops showed up, but I'm not sure if they arrested anyone. I'm fairly certain they're good people, but I can't help thinking about that anytime I wonder about talking to them about their dogs.

Me: "Hey, my name is Sage. Um, I have something to tell you...it's about your dogs."
Husband: "WHUT? What about my dawgs?! Youse dat sonovabitch what's after my wife, isn't ya? SIC EM, BOYS!"
Me: "Gah!" *SMOKE BOMB!* :runaway: